From Tail To Mane
by Lady Amalthea
Summary: Logan heads north on his way to Alkalai Lake and meets another mutant. Story in progress.
1. From Tale To Mane 1: Finders, Keepers

From Tail to Mane

By Lady Amalthea

Rating: PG-13 (swearing (mostly Logan, of course), a few scary things, a tiny naughty

thought-if this changes I'll change the rating as I post the new parts)

Distribution: Please ask me.[lady_amalthea10@hotmail.com][1]

Disclaimer:Logan/Wolverine isn't mine.Too bad L!Neither are any of the other X-

Men.Rhiannon is, as are any new (read: unfamiliar) minor characters.Also, I am a 

poor University student so I am making no money off of this and don't have any to 

give anyone who is thinking about getting me into trouble.Besides, I'm a good girl-

really!

# Summary:Logan meets another mutant on his way up North and learns a

# little about life, love, the universe and everything.(All praise Douglas Adams!)

# Spoiler: (Chapter 1) Logan has an accident and is rescued…by a horse?

Feedback: Sure!But please be gentle.I'm new at this.

Notes: This is one of my first fanfics, and it's the first one I've written with Logan in it, 

so if it sucks I apologize.Also, it's written in the third person, but from alternating 

viewpoints, so there are lots of she/her and he/his in it.Sorry!

# This takes place after the movie.I'm assuming that Logan would go north

# first, and then west.The setting is therefore Northern Ontario, not quite out of 

"cottage country."Also, my Logan doesn't smoke, although he still drinks and swears 

on occasion.

Draft horses are the big ones you see in old movies working on a farm or in the old

Budweiser ads running through the snow.The canter is a horse's third fastest gait

(like a human running slowly).*'s indicate either sounds or emphasis, and ~ 's 

show what someone is thinking. Big spaces between paragraphs indicate a change 

in viewpointwhile a major scene change or out of story comment is indicated by

***.

# Chapter One: Finders, Keepers

Rhiannon lowered her head and sniffed the air again.~It's just up ahead.~She picked up a canter and loped off down the road in the direction of the scent.

The first thing she passed was the motorcycle lying in the ditch.The wheels had stopped spinning, but she could smell that the metal was still warm.There was no sign of the rider.

She sped up a bit and continued down the road, her hooves pounding on the pavement.~There he is.~She slid to a stop, then stepped over to the still figure lying on the ground.Her head dropped next to him and she inhaled deeply.~Yep, that's him.~She could tell that he was a mutant, and still alive, although he smelled faintly of metal, which didn't make a lot of sense.It wasn't the bike-she knew what that smelled like-it was *him*.~Strange.~

Suddenly Rhiannon's head flew up, ears pricked.A car was coming down the road towards them.It was quite a ways off yet, (at least she thought so) but there was no guarantee that it would stop before it reached them.

She dropped her head and nudged the man urgently.He mumbled but didn't wake up.She nudged him again, then looked down the road. She could just see the car cresting a hill in the distance.~This isn't working!I have to try something else.~She grabbed the man's jacket -~Yuck! Leather!~- and began to drag him to the side of the road.

All of a sudden she heard the car honk its horn.She let go and looked up.The car was just down the road and heading right at them.

~There's only one thing left to do.~Rhiannon carefully straddled the man, caging him in with her legs in an effort to protect him.She then changed into her draft horse form and waited.

Logan took a deep breath and tried to open his eyes.~What *was* that ?~He could smell a strange mixture of horse and woman but the smell seemed to surround him, coming from everywhere at once.~How could that be?~

He cautiously turned his head to the side and forced his eyes open.He blinked groggily.There was a horse's hoof, leg attached, not four inches from where his right hand lay, palm down, on the road.

*HONK*~Fuck!~He winced.~ That car ain't helpin' my damn headache.~He refocused on the hoof and swore in disbelief.The hoof was now the size of a dinner plate and was largely obscured by long, white hair which also covered the horse's leg, at least as far up it as he could see.

"What the hell's goin' on?All I did was crash the damn bike!How-"His tirade was interrupted by squealing tires and more honking.He looked up in surprise, which quickly turned to stunned horror as he realized that the car was heading *straight* towards them.

   [1]: mailto:lady_amalthea10@hotmail.com



	2. From Tale To Mane 2: Crazy Horse

Rating: PG-13 still

Spoiler: (Chapter 2) Rhiannon introduces herself and learns a little about Logan.

# 

# Chapter Two: Crazy Horse

Rhiannon reared up and slammed her front hooves on the hood of the car as it rolled to a stop inches from them both.

The driver put the car into neutral then stuck his head out the window.

"What the hell are ya doin', ya crazy horse!Get outa the damn road."He honked the horn twice for good measure.

Rhiannon lowered her head towards the windshield and pinned her ears back."Maybe if you would *back* *up* then I could put my feet down and we could make some progress!"she snapped.

"Holy shit!A talking horse!"The driver jammed the car into reverse and sped off backwards.Rhiannon's hooves slid off the hood of the car and thumped down dangerously close to Logan's head.She began to laugh.~What an idiot!His expression was priceless-he was terrified!Of me!~

Logan was now staring up at a very broad belly.He had jerked his head out of harm's way when the horse's hooves touched down, then looked warily over his shoulder to see what it was going to do next.

~Well, if that don't beat all.~The horse was laughing.Actually laughing.He looked at the skid marks left by the departing car.~Why not?If it can talk it can laugh, right?…Wait a minute-a talking horse?~He inhaled deeply, trying to sort out the scent of the horse from everything else he could smell.That horse/woman smell…could it–she- be a mutant? 

Out of the blue, the horse's nose swung down into his field of vision."Oh, you're awake."The head disappeared and he realized that the legs on either side of his head were now normal, stocky human legs clad in jeans and work boots.The legs stepped away from him then turned back and crouched down.A hand appeared and he followed it up to a young woman's face which was smiling happily at him.

"Are you all right?"Rhiannon asked. ~Damn, he isn't even scratched!I was right.~"Sorry if I scared you.I tried to wake you up but it didn't work."She looked more closely at him.~Hey-he's kind of sexy-in a wild sort of way.~She mentally shook herself.~ No-I can't think that –bad girl!~

Logan hesitated a second, then took her hand.~Let's see if she's as strong as she looks.~To his surprise she hoisted him easily to his feet."I'm fine." He regarded her intently."You're a mutant?"

She nodded."My name's Rhiannon.I can shape shift.Well, sort of.Only into a horse or something like it.I can even be a unicorn if I concentrate.What about you?"She tilted her head to the side as she asked.

"Logan."He didn't know her, but some inner instinct told him he could trust her-at least a little.~Hell, she could've been hit by that car.May as well tell her.~" I heal really fast and I have heightened senses."He paused, uncertain if he should tell her about the claws.

"That explains why your bike is totaled but you don't have a scratch on you.I have heightened senses when I'm in horse form, but not when I'm human."She grinned."I can fly too, if I shift into a winged horse, but that's a bit tricky.It uses a lot of energy."She frowned a little."Do you lift weights or something?You're heavier than you look."

~Damn.Guess I have to tell her now.Why'd she have to be so smart?~"No."He tried not to look angry but it wasn't easy.*snikt*Out came the claws."Some *doctors*"-he almost spat the word out- "took advantage of my healing factor and covered my bones with metal, as well as giving me these."He held up one fist."You ever heard of adamantium?"

Rhiannon shook her head.She didn't know what adamantium was, but she wasn't sure she wanted to ask, either.

She couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Logan.The claws had frightened her at first and she had thought briefly about bolting, but once she realized he was angry at the "doctors" and not at her, she wasn't afraid of him anymore.Now she was outraged.

"Those weren't doctors," she said angrily."They were butchers.I never understood why people have to be so mean to each other.Different doesn't always mean evil."

She closed her eyes in an effort to regain control of her emotions, but discovered that doing so was a mistake.It allowed her to remember, in rapid flashbacks, what school had been like-first she was the token "fat kid," then her mutation had surfaced and the teasing had doubled, going from bearable to nearly driving her round the bend.It wasn't her fault that she was a mutant!Why did that give others the right to tease her?~Calm down, Rhiannon!~ she told herself.~There isn't anything you can do about the past…Maybe you can help Logan with his future?~That thought made her feel a little better, although she couldn't have said precisely why.

She opened her eyes and met Logan's intense but curious gaze.She was glad to see that he was no longer angry-if anything he seemed a little surprised by her reaction- and a quick glance showed her that he had re-sheathed the claws.

"Sorry.I get a little worked up sometimes.I'm very big on equal rights for everyone."She flashed him another smile."Let's go see what we can do about your bike."

And she turned and headed off down the road.

Logan watched her a little, then he shrugged and headed off after her.Her outburst had surprised him but he felt a little confused as well.Most people were either afraid of him or, less commonly, they felt sorry for him.He couldn't remember anyone having ever been angry on his behalf.It was a strange feeling, but not any stranger than not knowing who you really were and having no way to find out.

He wondered briefly if Rhiannon would understand how that felt.~Not like it matters.As soon as I get the bike goin' again, I'm gonna keep heading west.~

***

Little did he know that Fate had an entirely different idea.


End file.
